[pct-l] Rattlesnakes on the PCT

[abiegen at cox.net]

A friend of mine was a surveyor working with his Dad and brothers in Oregon. They got dropped off to do surveying work by helicopter but often would hike out to the nearest town. One time when they hiked out there was an old pickup truck stopped in the road. An old man got out when he saw them and walked to the front of the truck and called them over. "Look at this," he said, "There's a big rattler in the road." Sure enough there was. The old man walked over to it and said, "Watch this." He stepped closer to the rattler which immediately gave him two quick bites to the leg. 

The old man was laughing hysterically as my friend and his brothers grabbed him in a panic and pulled him away from the rattler. As they laid the laughing old coot on the road a distance from the snake and lifted his overalls legging to see the damage done, they discovered that he had a wooden leg. Apparently the old boy was well known in town for this practical joke. The snake was his; placed there by his own self. He had heard that they were coming and set it all up.